April 11, 2018
| Rebecca Hersman, Melissa DaltonThough military action may be an important part of the international response to the crime, it will come to little avail if not embedded in a broader set of sustained efforts to address this problem economically, diplomatically and legally as well.

President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Syrian military airfields marks a considerable escalation of U.S. involvement in the now six-year Syrian Civil War. The strikes represent the first direct U.S. military action against the Assad regime, as previous U.S. military...

No one should underestimate the value of the cruise missile strikes the
United States launched on April 7, 2017. Attacking a single air base will
scarcely cripple the Syrian Air Force, nor will it limit Syria's ability to
use its remaining chemical weapons....

No one can deny the horrifying nature of images of babies and children that have been killed by nerve gas. It is critical, however, that these images be kept in perspective. This is only one atrocity among many in the history of the Syrian civil war since 2011, and in the...

The United States has now been continuously at war for more than a decade and a half, and still has not found a way to decisively win a conflict in a "failed state" where extremists are willing to use almost any level of force to achieve their objective. This is not a...

If you rank the inputs and outputs for countries involved in the Syria conflict right now, you end up with some interesting numbers. Turkey and Iran are making major investments of money and lives, and they have a major impact on the course of the conflict. Some Gulf Arab...

The Trump Administration has inherited Syria as a land of lost options, and as a country where U.S. policy is broadly seen as a failure and a sign of growing American weakness in the Middle East. It is not clear that the United States ever had good options, but if there were...

As President-elect Trump assumes office in January, Syria will be among the most urgent foreign policy challenges he and his new team will have to tackle. Syria’s civil war has raged for five years, beginning as peaceful protests against the brutality of President Bashar...

October 19, 2016In spite of the war, many Syrian newlyweds are still able to share that love-struck gaze of nuptial bliss. However, increasingly often, the intimacy of the moment is hampered by sketchy internet connections and pixelated images, as the couple is separated by a screen and...

There is nothing pretty about the rubble left behind by the collapse of the U.S. strategy for Syria. One of the most horrifying civil wars in modern history has gotten worse. Russia, Iran, and Assad have all gained at the expense of the United States and its allies, and no...